I think this 3D software choice is a very personal thing. It all depends on your individual approach and the sort of work you do. I think the only way you can really find the right program is to try them. That means learning them - at least enough do do some representitive work in them - and using them for a while. That demands much time and effort - so it hasn't got done in my case.
Max, Maya, XSI, Modo, Rhino... one of them - or some other - might be a better fit for me. Maybe I should really get down to trying them out.
In an ideal world I want a program with a good mix of CAD/engineering - and - organic modelling capabilities - and - the level of texturing and rendering capabilities found in C4D - all wrapped up in an interface that suits my way of working
